The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Many portions of the human anatomy naturally articulate relative to one another. Generally, the articulation between the portions of the anatomy is substantially smooth and without abrasion. This articulation is allowed by the presence of natural tissues, such as cartilage and strong bone.
Over time, however, due to injury, stress, degenerative health issues and various other issues, articulation of the various portions of the anatomy can become rough or impractical. For example, injury can cause the cartilage or the boney structure to become weak, damaged, or non-existent. Therefore, the articulation of the anatomical portions is no longer possible for the individual.
At such times, it can be desirable to replace the anatomical portions with a prosthetic portion such that normal or easy articulation can be reproduced. For example, a distal end of a femur naturally articulates with respect to a tibia to form a knee joint. After injury or other degenerative processes, the distal end of the femur and the tibia and can become rough or damaged. In these cases, it may be desirable to replace at least a portion of the tibia and/or femur with a prosthesis.
In order to replace the tibia and/or femur with a prosthesis, such as a tibial prosthesis and/or a femoral prosthesis, one or more cuts may be made to resect the distal ends of the tibia and/or femur. Prior to coupling the tibial prosthesis and/or femoral prosthesis to the respective resected bone(s), a gap existing between the resected tibia and the resected femur in flexion and extension may be measured. The gap in flexion (“flexion gap”) and the gap in extension (“extension gap”) may generally be about equal to ensure knee stability and full range of motion after the tibial prosthesis and/or femoral prosthesis are coupled to the respective resected bone(s).
The gap in flexion and the gap in extension may be measured using a tensor/ligament balancer. Currently, the surgeon may measure the gap in flexion and the gap in tension under a varying output force. Thus, a surgeon using the tensor/ligament balancer may have to pay close attention to the amount of force used to measure the gap in tension and the amount of force used to measure the gap in extension to ensure an accurate measurement.